The site of Super Bowl LIV is Miami, Florida. And although they never played for the profe sional football team here in Miami, it's difficult to find any two people more synonymous with Miami football than former Miami Hurricanes greats Ed Reed and Reggie Wayne.On Thursday, the Hall of Fame safety and future Hall of Fame wide receiver took part in a week-long event at the DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Lounge, participating in an hour-long reunion discu sion with ESPN's Mina Kimes. As DirecTV notes, the former University of Miami teammates (and past roommates) reflected on their early days on the team, their close bond, and went back and forth over who was the better roommate back in the day.At the conclusion of the event, Reed -- who was just named for the football program at his, Wayne's, and, full disclosure, my alma mater -- and Wayne sat down with CBS Sports to discu s their college careers, their respective places in NFL history, what it felt like to be singled out for praise by Bill Belichick, and how they would approach the matchups they'd likely be tasked with if they were playing in this year's Super Bowl. The way they've changed the rules the past few years, how do you think your game would be different if you came into the league in 2020 as opposed to when you did?Reed: For me as a defender, you just have to get your head out of the way more often than not. We probably had more contact, helmet-to-helmet type stuff happening when I was playing, though I always tried to play the game in a safe way. We played hard as sh-- at practice, in Miami. We were hitting each other, going after each other. They were crack-blocking and doing all kinds of stuff on the field.But it was always with no ill-intent. It was always with protecting your brother in mind so that he could get up and go again. Because as much as we wanted to get after each other, I wanted him on the field come Saturday. And I wanted him in the league. That's what we learned and that's what I've been telling Wayne about with the Nitschke Meeting, with the Hall of Famers in there. You realize how much of this league is a
Jaden Schwartz Jersey brotherhood. Wayne: For me, with the rule changes, I honestly believe that if I was to come into the league with the rules the way they are now for a receiver, I would play 20 years, man. I would play 20 years.They changed it after that time you guys played the , too.Wayne: Yeah, exactly. I would play 20 years, man. It's to the point to where those guys, there'll be a game where unle s they get tackled, they won't even get touched. They can go in and not even be touched. But I gue s you try to make the game a safer place to play and I respect that. And sometimes you'll see a quarterback and the defense will hold up because he's about to run out of bounds and they don't want to hit him and get that penalty, but now all of a sudden he can get a couple more yards. As long as they respect the game and don't try to take advantage of it, it'll be OK.Both of you guys had the pretty rare distinction of being among the very few opposing players that Bill Belichick kind of showered with praise throughout your careers, which he doesn't really do for opposing players. It was like , Jason Taylor, , both of you, not many others. How did that feel to have the recognition and that respect? Wayne: It was great, man. We all know that Bill Belichick is arguably the best head coach ever. Depends on who you ask. And you know, every time you play him it was gonna be the ultimate che s match. You respected everything he did. You respected that their team was gonna come in there and try to embarra s you. You get it. So to hear that coming from a guy of his stature, it says I did something right.And I would say the same thing about him. When they were to ask me to name the one coach I'd want to play for , I would be like, "Bill Belichick." This guy, he's doing something right. If he can bottle up whatever he's doing over there and sell it -- shoot, man.Reed: A lot of money.Wayne:It's
Riley Sheahan Women Jersey money.Reed: He's the Vince Lombardi of our era. He's the best coach to probably ever coach this game. What they did in New England is probably never gonna be done again. It's gonna be hard to replicate that. It's greatne s at its finest. As much as you hated it, it's greatne s at its finest. And for us, for Reggie and I to travel the road we traveled from New Orleans to Miami, to Indy and Baltimore, to right here on this couch... to hear that, knowing we did what we were supposed to do, we did it the right way. It's bigger than Hall of Fame. It's bigger than that. And it can't get no bigger than that yellow jacket. And Wayne will know when he gets it. But it's bigger than that. We really did it the right way. It wasn't about the accolades for us. That's why I know my brother is more than deserving. So for us to get that from Belichick, and we played on opposite teams. We were roommates talking about these moments. We know we did it the right way.Reggie, it took you a few years to really become one of the best receivers in the league. What's going through your mind as you try to work your way from being a rotational guy to being one of the best guys?Reed: Wait, can I answer that? Can I answer
Alexander Wennberg Women Jersey it?Wayne: Yeah.Reed:Man, I remember just telling my bro, "Keep doing what you always did. The plays are gonna come. They need you. I'm watching it." I'm actually asking him the same thing at the time but at the same time I'm trying to keep him encouraged. Because it was a little frustrating. I know it was. Because you're more than deserving and you're only coming to me when you want us to come back. Because that's what I'm watching.I'm like, "Bro, why is it every time they need a play, they throw you the ball, but all the other times, he's over here and he's over here?"It made sense to me once I got to that level to understand it. He's on the left side of the field. Peyton's not looking that way more than half the time. But I was like, "Bro, just keep doing what you're doing." Wayne: I knew. I was just like everybody else. I wanted to be out there. Obviously, I would always talk to Reed all the time.But my rookie year, when my head coach was Jim Mora, we went 6-10. That year was the whole, "Playoffs?!?" And then they let Jim go and we brought in Tony Dungy. Coach Dungy, he's a hell of a football coach but he's even more of a consummate person. So I would sit down with Coach Dungy and he would just sit there and talk to me and tell me to be patient, my time's coming, keep grinding, don't take my foot off the gas and all that stuff. And I just, whenever the opportunity would come, I treated it like the Miami days. Whenever you get that opportunity, you can't let go.And then one day, during OTAs, I walk in the hallway, my third year. Coach Dungy is walking, he stops me in the hallway and he says, "Hey, now is your time." So when he told me that, obviously I was cheesing like a cheshire cat. But that's when I went back and sat at my locker and said, "It's on you." Obviously, the way teams play defense now, there's not as many guys covering the whole field like you did, Ed. Is there anybody that you see now that could do as much in space as you were doing? And Reggie, do you see anybody that could replicate that?Wayne: Do what he did? Man, you're looking at a special talent right here. Guys can always try to emulate it. There
Ryan Donato Jersey 's something about covering ground, but it's covering that ground and turning the ball over. That's what's rare. Guys can go over there and maybe distract the receiver or tip a pa s and make it incomplete. Which is cool. But you knew if that pa s... if it wasn't on the money, if it was a moon-ball -- no. That thing had to be there in time because he would get there. That's why he's the best safety to ever play the game. There's nobody like that.Reed: I appreciate it, bro.Wayne: He's a special talent. We knew going into the game against the , first thing Peyton had to do was find No. 20. And sh--, I was looking for him, too. Reed: So, all I would have to say to that is: you find two roommates that's done what we've done. That can get the compliment from Belichick that way. That's my answer. My answer is your question right back.Alright, when you look at the Super Bowl, obviously there are two elite tight ends in the game. How do you approach the matchup with and ?Reed: Defense is about where your help is at within the scheme. One-on-one stuff, you just have to cover your guy. Learn his weakne ses. If it's Kittle or Kelce, I would bang them first to slow them down. I would let them start, hit 'em, make them start all over again because I don't feel like those guys are super fast like a receiver would be. So I feel like I would let them get started, bang 'em, then cover them from there. Or you have a D-end chuck him before he goes.So, there's many ways to defend them, but at the same time, those guys are really good tight ends who make both of their offenses go. So it's gonna be interesting to see how those defenses try to stop both of those tight ends. Because Kittle gets the ball. He gets the ball more than his receivers. Same for Kelce. So it's gonna be interesting to see how they try to minimize their touches.But I really like Kittle. Reggie broke it down to me even more last night: he's in the trenches.He's like the key to the run game.Reed: Yeah.Wayne: He's everything.Reed: And you got to put pre sure on the quarterback. Because he's the one who's got to get them the ball.On the other side they got . How do you attack Richard Sherman?Wayne: Richard Sherman, he plays very little man to man. He's more of a zone corner.Would you just line up on the left side all game still, so you're on the opposite side of the field?Wayne:My first 11 years, I was always just on the left and Marvin Harrison was always just on the right. And then when Marv left, was just on the right. In Year 12 for me, that's the first time I actually started to move all over. I had to train my body all over again. How to line up and even how to catch from the right side. Because my body was trained and conditioned for 11 years.But you can have all the receivers and the quarterbacks you want. If you don't have a run game, you know it's gonna be tough. So the way I would attack Richard would be to get that run game going and maybe that'd get them out of a certain defense that they always play and kind of get them somewhere where they're a little bit more uncomfortable. That'
Mason Appleton Men Jersey d be one way, drop one of those safeties down because they respect the run.
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